WBB Review: Late Kansas City Surge Sinks Utah State In Opener

LOGAN – In a perfect world, Utah State would have won its season opener to begin the Wes Brooks era. The signs of an Aggie rebuild would have been immediately evident, and the hard work of those involved would have paid off instantly – representing a fresh start for a program in desperate need of one.

We, of course, do not live in a perfect world. The results of hard work are often delayed, and progress is anything but linear. Rather than a day-one breakthrough, Utah State's 80-77 loss to Kansas City served as a harsh reminder that the past this team is running from is not so distant. Rebuilding a program is difficult, arduous, and, at times, painful. It doesn’t happen overnight, and the road to change is often rocky.

In the first quarter, the Aggies spent more time dusting off the cobwebs than the Roos. Utah State struggled to score from anywhere and shot 27.8 percent from the field, 0-4 from deep and 2-5 from the line. Meanwhile, Kansas City shot 52.9 percent from the field in the frame and broke out to an early 22-18 lead, having led by as many as seven points.

Utah State settled in during the second period and shot 68.8 from the field, picking up a welcome boost from a trio of triples on five attempts. The Aggies chipped away at the lead, but only slightly, held back by Kansas City's own prolific shooting – the Roos knocked down 62.5 percent of their second quarter field goal tries and carried a 44-41 edge into the locker room.

In the second half, the Aggies really let it fly, launching 11 three-pointers in the third quarter alone and knocking down four. First to strike was Denae Skelton to make it 49-44, cutting short a Kansas City scoring run before it could fully materialize. A few minutes later, after the sides traded a pair of two-pointers, she hit another to pull the Aggies within two points, 53-51, forcing Kansas City to call a timeout.

The quarter ended with a familiar sight for both teams – a Cheyenne Stubbs buzzer-beater. After a pair of free throws gave the Roos a four-point lead with 11 seconds left in the quarter, Stubbs took the inbound pass and brought it up the court. She used a high screen from Allyzee Verdan to get some space from her defender and cut to her left, but was met quickly by a heavy trap. She broke away from the traffic and cut back to her right, drawing a foul before she could fully break into open space. Kansas City only prolonged the inevitable, though, as the ball found its way back to Stubbs, who took one dribble as she curled back towards the basket and heaved a deep three, which banked off the glass and found the bottom of the net as time expired. The Aggies still trailed, as they had for essentially the entire evening, but Stubbs' triple brought them within one point of their guests with 10 more minutes to erase the slim margin.

Everything started to come together in the fourth. The Aggies were following their system as designed, forcing turnovers, speeding up the game and firing off more threes. Utah State needed less than a minute to take the lead, nabbing the ball from Ana Oliveira and funneling it forward to Jamisyn Heaton, who went to the hoop on a fast break and gave the Aggies a 63-62 edge – their first advantage on the scoreboard since the game's opening minute.

A few plays later, Heaton picked off a pass into the paint and set the Aggies up for another successful possession, this one ending with a Skelton catch-and-shoot three on a Stubbs assist to extend that edge further, 66-62. The Aggies unleashed a furious full-court press which immediately resulted in another turnover, eventually paid off by Mia Tarver banking in a three-pointer to cap an 8-0 run and give the Aggies a 69-62 lead with seven minutes to play.

Utah State's momentum waned, though, and the Roos scored seven unanswered to tie the game at 69 with five minutes remaining. Once again, it was Heaton who put the Aggies back in front, driving to her left and converting a layup to restart a suddenly struggling offense. Just like that, Utah State broke into another scoring run, bolstered first by a Stubbs steal and fast break, then by another full-court press turnover that led to a corner three from the star point guard. With only three possessions, the Aggies had halted Kansas City's surge and clawed back to a seven-point lead with 3:39 on the clock.

Once again, that outburst was short-lived. One Kansas City bucket became two, Utah State came up empty on five consecutive possessions, and Alayna Contreras knocked down a wide-open three-pointer to tie the game at 76 with 48 seconds remaining. Stubbs was fouled and hit one of two free throws to give the Aggies a very delicate one-point lead on their ensuing possession, but that didn't last long, as the Roos found Tamia Ugass for a layup to push back ahead, 78-77. Heaton was called for a travel in the lane as Utah State looked to answer, and Kansas City added two more free throws to its advantage as the Aggies intentionally fouled with just over four seconds left on the clock.

Utah State called a timeout to advance the ball and draw up a play, but Kansas City was ready, forcing the Aggies to take two more timeouts before they finally managed to inbound the ball. With no timeouts left, this was it. Utah State had played a strong second half to get back in the game. The Aggies had seven steals in the fourth quarter and had hit big shots when they needed to. One more of those big shots would send the game to overtime.

Heaton got the ball to Stubbs. She took two dribbles, lifted off, and fired a clean shot with time to spare. In a perfect world, the ball would have found the bottom of the net. Instead, it clanked unceremoniously off the rim, and the buzzer sounded. Utah State's comeback effort, which had looked so promising for the bulk of the final frame, fell just short.

It's a disappointing loss for the Aggies, but the game was not without its bright spots. Utah State generated 16 steals and, despite only taking four in the first quarter, put up 30 attempts from deep, knocking down 10. Last season, the Aggies never registered more than 12 steals, and surpassed the double-digit mark for made triples just once.

Stubbs hasn’t missed a beat, either, and her young supporting cast showed plenty to be excited about. The senior guard led the way with 28 points, three rebounds, three assists and four steals, shooting 9 of 15 from the field and 3 of 8 from behind the arc. Tarver made a great first impression and scored 13 points, adding three rebounds, three steals and an assist. Skelton and Elise Livingston both made their collegiate debuts and earned starting nods – the former knocked down three triples for nine points while pitching in three assists, two steals and a rebound; the latter finished with six points, two rebounds and a steal.

Heaton had a great performance coming off the bench, too, contributing 10 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals in 20 minutes of action. Gracie Johnson also came off the bench and took exactly one shot, a three-pointer that she buried. She grabbed two boards and dished an assist despite being limited to just six minutes of playing time by foul trouble.

For all the hope the game offered, and it did offer a fair amount, the reality is that Utah State blew two seven-point leads in the fourth quarter, is 0-1, and has lost five games in a row dating back to last season. These Aggies will need to learn how to win, and in Brooks' view, that starts and ends with execution.

“(The) execution needs to be better," Brooks said. "Effort doesn’t win at this level. Execution does. We have to execute. That’s the only way you get to an elite level."

When the Aggies found their footing and played to their game plan, they looked like the stronger side. When they struggled, though, they really struggled, suffering 19 turnovers and allowing Kansas City far too many good looks at the basket – the Roos shot 50.8 percent from the field and scored 46 points in the paint. Beyond that, Utah State's performance at the line left much to be desired. The team shot 7 of 17 from the stripe and converted just 1 of 5 tries in the second half. Winning basketball doesn’t often include that many points left on the table, nor does it accommodate a 17-rebound edge on the glass. It certainly didn't help that Johnson spent most of the evening on the bench, but the Aggies had trouble finding answers for Ugass, who logged a double-double with 12 boards and 10 points.

“We just have to get better at executing," Brooks said. "But, we will.”

Parker Ballantyne covers Utah State women's basketball for The Aggship. You can follow him on Twitter at @PShark14 for updates on the Aggies.